Get Down to Business at ADAC
Oct 25, 2023
10:00 am—3:15 pm
TRADE ONLY
Sponsored by ADAC, ASID, and Business of Home
Brush up on your business skills and join ADAC for a day dedicated to helping designers at every level explore the ins and outs of running a successful business. Learn what it takes to protect your income, explore how to successfully navigate succession planning, discover how design contracts can strengthen your client relationships, and more.
10 – 11 AM
How to Protect Your Income: Everything You Need to Know to File a Lien Against Non-paying Clients
Learn the ins and outs about the process of protecting your lien rights if a client doesn’t pay your fees. Our panelists John Guest, vice president of the design firm Carson Guest, and Stacy Hanley, attorney with Lefkoff, Duncan, Grimes, McSwain, Hass and Hanley, will share their wealth of knowledge about the process and the Georgia statute that allows designers to place a lien.
Sponsored by ASID
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Succession Planning: Leaving your Legacy in the Right Hands
Join Faith Fix, founder of Freestyle Interiors; Dwayne Bergmann, Principal/founder of Dwayne Bergmann Interiors; Ann Feldstein, marketing and communications expert; and Lloyd Princeton, recruiter specializing in the A&D industry, in an engaging conversation exploring succession planning and cultivating a successful turnover of your business’ legacy. These industry experts tell-all on what it means to create your team’s succession plan, double the size of your business, and provide the tools to connect with the right person to buy your company. With over 50 years of collective industry experience, gain insights into assuming leadership and effectively communicating with clients, vendors, and your community during times of growth and change.
1 – 2 PM
Using Your Design Contract to Strengthen Client Relationships
Who loves legalese? Nobody, of course. But to nail down the specifics of a project, protect yourself, and strengthen your client relationships, an iron-clad design contract is a must. That doesn’t mean it has to be a stuffy, lengthy document overladen with Latin phrases, though. Think of it instead as your secret weapon. Join attorney Wendy Estela, partner at Kahan Kerensky Capossela, LLP, for an overview of the key provisions you need in your design contract to ensure you maintain control of your client relationships, get paid on time, and avoid disputes and misunderstandings. She’ll teach the necessary basics, including clauses that will protect you in worst-case scenarios and bolster your social media presence to further grow your brand. You’ll also learn how to negotiate with your client up front, which will create a solid foundation for a healthy professional relationship from the start of a project.
Sponsored by Business of Home
2:15 – 3:15 PM
Neurodiversity in Design: Why It Matters for Your Business and You
As the world begins to understand and embrace neurodiversity, it’s time to consider how certain elements of design, such as tactile features and sensory stimuli, can positively impact neurodiverse clients and families. Neurodivergent individuals, such as those with ADHD, autism, or other neurodevelopmental conditions, experience and interact with the world in many different ways. Join Michele Kukler, Head of School at Connections School of Atlanta, as she discusses the growing importance of neurodiversity in design and how we can design places and spaces that cultivate a sense of belonging for all neurotypes with Megan Henshall, Global Events Strategy at Google; Shelly Rosenberg, founder and adaptive interior designer of Acorn & Oak; and Berthine Crèvecoeur West, CEO of Westbridge Solutions and certified diversity executive.
LOCATION: ADAC Presentation Room, First Floor Atrium